Aokigahara — Sea of Trees
This is the story of a dense forest that lies at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan. Many urban legends surround this forest, and some believe it to be haunted because of its tragic history as a suicide spot. Aokigahara Forest made news around the world in recent years after a controversial video made by a certain American YouTuber, but this forest has a much longer story. What is the history of this forest, and how has it come to take on such a notorious position in Japan today? Read on to learn more about Aokigahara Forest and how Japan is working to combat the problems faced here.
Known as the most famous forest in Japan, Aokigahara is located at the northwest base of the country’s highest mountain, Mount Fuji. Due to its high density of trees, Aokigahara is also known as a Jukai — which simply means a “sea of trees’. The tree coverage is so thick that, even at noon, you will hardly find a bright spot in the forest.
Aokigahara is also known as the Japan’s Demon Forest, the Suicide Forest, and the “perfect place to die”. This unique forest, which is very quiet with hardly any wildlife, has turned into a common spot among the Japanese to end their life. And because of the silence (where you could hardly hear birds singing), many Japanese believe that the forest is haunted and dare not go nearby.
More than 100 people who were not from the area surrounding Aokigahara committed suicide there between 2013 and 2015, according to a local government report. Countrywide, suicides totaled roughly 24,000 people in 2015 alone, according to the country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. These numbers do not include attempted suicides.
In crypto world, when they think they can’t recover from losses, the only thing they think about is suicide; 22 investors committed suicide after the price of LUNA plummeted close to zero.
And this eventually leads you to the questions of morality. Is committing suicide wrong? Who controls your life, and more relevant here, death? No easy answers to these.
